Beautiful stamps

Happy Hollidays!

I wish everyone a great Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of wonderful momments and hapiness.

And to all postcrossers and card/stamp collectors I wish a great New Year of happy swaps. May your mail box always be full :)

Os Imigrantes - Domingos Rebelo

Of all the amazing stamps I have in my collection, this is probably my favourite. It was issued in 1999 by the CTT (Portuguese Postal Services) and depicts a painting named “Os Imigrantes”, painted by the Azorean painter Domingos Rebelo.

Domingos Rebelo, born in the city of Ponta Delgada, S. Miguel Island, in 1891, was a professor and a painter. He exhibited his first painting when he was only 13 years old. When he was 15 years old, due to his talent, and with the support of many people, he left the island to study in Paris, where he remained for six years. After returning to the island and marrying, he worked for thirty years in the same school where he studied, which today is named after him. In 1942, he settled in Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, doing several murals and paintings and getting involved in the National Arts Academy. He eventually died in that city in 1975.

He was a deeply religious person and gave a lot of importance to family and religion. Through out his life, he was always interested in helping and orientating young Azorean painters. He had a big impact in Azorean culture and Art, becoming the most known Azorean artist of all times.

Os Imigrantes (The immigrants) is his best known piece. It was painted in 1926 and shows local people in Ponta Delgada’s Harbour, waiting to leave the island and immigrate to other places in the world. It is considered a regionalist themed painting, because of its details: the traditional Azorean clothes, the Azorean guitar and the small frame next to the woman (it shows an image of Saint Christ of Miracles, a very important religious devotion in the islands).
I think it’s a remarkable painting, done by a remarkable painter.

Source: Wikipedia.

Moomin Stamps

Before joining the Postcrossing Project, I had never heard of the Moomin. Now, I find them quite interesting.

The Moomins are characters created by the Finnish illustrator and writer Tove Jansson and they appear in nine books, five picture books and a comic strip. They have also been the basis for numerous television series and films. There is even a Theme Park in Finland!
The stories are set in a fictional place in Finland: the Moomin Valley. The Moomin family comprises of the Moominpappa, Moominmamma and their son, Moomintroll. All the stories are quite philosophical and they depict values such as tolerance, love, friendship, generosity and respect for others.

These stamps, issued in 2007 by the Finnish postal services, were sent to me by various postcrossers. I adore them! :)

Source: Wikipedia.